Glassport family says stress from house flooding led to heart attack

Sunday's brief but heavy rain has one family in Glassport worried that the home where they've lived for 25 years will be condemned, and they said the stress of it all led to one family member suffering a heart attack.

The rain flooded Gerald and Joanne Wirbicki's basement on Cypress Way with four feet of water. But they said the problem actually began about two weeks ago when a deep hole opened up in the alley behind the house, and they believe the borough didn't fix it properly.

"I want them to fix my house, fix this problem, and stop dragging their feet," Joanne Wirbicki said. "They filled it up with two tons of rock and just paved over it and never went in there to see what the problem was."

Evanovich said the borough relies on camera trucks from outside agencies, but admits they can create delays.

"It's not fast enough for them. It's not fast enough for us, either. We're at the mercy at who's coming here to give us expertise," Evanovich said.

The mayor said his heart goes out to Gerald Wirbicki, who is undergoing a heart catheterization. Evanovich said Wirbicki's family can expect to have the borough take care of the problem.

On Sunday, Gerald Wirbicki said he ran into his basement when the rain started falling because he was afraid something bad was going to happen.

"I was down there, and it looked pretty good for a few seconds," he said. "Then, the floor went 'whoop,' and water started squirting out of the floor."

The cement floor burst open; even after the water receded, foot-tall bumps could still be seen in the basement. The family says officials told them the home's foundation is no longer safe, so they can't stay there for now.

The Wirbickis said after the first rain two weeks ago, the hole opened up in the alley and Glassport's road crews just filled it up with gravel. That gravel washed away by the end of the next rain, a few days later, and the Wirbickis said the hole was not filled back in before Sunday's storm.

Gerald Wirbicki believes the hole was caused by a clogged storm water runoff pipe under the alley.

"We've never had a problem. Ever. Obviously something got in there and clogged it up," he said. "When the road caved in the first time, red flags should have gone off and said 'Houston, we have a problem, there's a big hole, what did that, and let's fix it.'"

The Wirbickis said their insurance company told them Sunday it would not cover the damage. "We're going to lose our home if somebody doesn't do anything," said Joanne Wirbicki.

The Wirbickis are staying with nearby family members and say they're looking at taking legal action to get their home back.

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